MIAMI (March 15, 2017) – Six members of the FIU swimming and diving team begin a historic appearance at the NCAA Championships on Thursday, March 16, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
Letizia Bertelli, Jennifer Deist, Marie Lauridsen, Carita Luukkanen, Rebecca Quesnel and Naomi Ruele will represent the Panthers in this year's NCAAs – the most number of FIU student-athletes in program history to qualify for an NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship. 
 
"I think we are all really excited," Deist said. "I know personally I am. As a senior, I'm really happy for the opportunity to extend my career a little bit longer, especially with my best friends on the team. We have become a really close knit group since working on the relays all year."
 
Deist is one of five swimmers who will be making the trip to Indy thanks in part to a record-breaking time trial at this year's Conference USA Championships. During a time trial on Feb. 22, the team of Bertelli, Lauridsen, Ruele and Deist posted a school-record time of 3:15.23 in the 400 Free Relay. It was the school's first A Standard cut and qualified the team for the NCAAs – the program's first relay team to ever qualify.
 
"We weren't sure if we were doing the time trial," Deist said. "We all wanted to do it. We trained for it all year. We were confident going in. We knew what we needed to do."
 
"I was overwhelmed with feelings," Lauridsen said. "It was so amazing. We all had to do our best to make this work and we all did it together."
 
However, qualifying for the NCAAs was almost not a given. In order for a relay team to appear in the NCAA Championships, a school must have an individual qualify as well. That happened during the time trail, as Bertelli, the lead leg of the 400 Free Relay, set the school record in the 100 Free, posting a 48.32 – the 25^th-fastest time in the nation.
 
"I didn't sleep the rest of the championships," Bertelli said. "I was really happy when we did the time trial and after we qualified. After we made it, I realized how much of a big deal it was."
 
Ruele, making her second-straight appearance in the NCAA Championships has a different perspective going into this year's event.
 
"Some of the best athletes in the world compete in the NCAAs," Ruele said. "Last year, I went in with the mindset that I did not belong there and I was the underdog. Now, I'm going in with this great group of people. Individually, it is not the same as competing with three other people. It gives me a little more confidence knowing that I have people that are going to be with me no matter what."
 
Luukkanen, who joined the team in December, is a part of the record-setting 400 Medley Relay team and will get a taste of collegiate swimming at the highest level in U.S.
 
"I haven't quite realized how big the NCAAs are," Luukkanen said. "But, when I see it in person, I will. I am pretty excited. The fact that we are all together is inspiring. Together we will do really well."  
 
Joining the five FIU swimmers is Quesnel. For the second-straight year Quesnel qualified for the NCAA Championships in the platform diving program. Quesnel posted a score of 525.05 (10 dives over both the prelims and the finals) to finish second in this year's Zone B Diving Platform Finals in Auburn, Alabama, on March 8 to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships in diving.
 
After sitting in 24th place following the first two rounds of the prelims, the native of Burlington, Ontario, roared back for a fifth-place finish heading into the finals with an overall score of 253.00. In the finals, Quesnel posted a 272.05 for the second-place finish (525.05).
 
Last season, Quesnel made school history becoming the first Panther diver to qualify for the NCAA Championships (platform).
 
In all, FIU will compete in a school-record seven events. Individually, Bertelli will compete in the 50 Free, the 100 Fly and the 100 Free, while Quesnel will take part in the Platform Program. As a relay team, FIU will take part in the 200 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay and the 400 Free Relay.
 
Having won three-straight Conference USA titles and sending a record number of Panthers to the NCAA Championships, FIU swimming and diving's success has set the tone for years to come.
 
"I'm really proud of FIU," Lauridsen said. "I just think it is amazing. I feel like we are so close. I want the best for each individual. We are a part of something special."
 
"We are trying to set new goals," Luukanen said. "We are trying to make it where going to the NCAAs is a common occurrence, just like we have in winning the conference championship."
 
"We have shared in the success of our teammates and it has driven us," Bertelli said. "When individuals on the team made goals to go the NCAAs the team bought into that idea. The idea that we can do it. The mindset of the team since my first year is so much different. It is so focused on the swimming."
 
"I think that is a testament to the coaches and what they are doing here with the people they are bringing in and the culture they are instilling in the team." Deist said. "This isn't happening by chance. This is happening to the program under their leadership."   
 
Competition for FIU begins on Thursday with the 200 Free Relay, 400 Medley Relay and Bertelli in the 50 Free.
 
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSwimDive) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSwimmingAndDiving) for all the latest Swimming and Diving news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.